The recent return of Dan Carter to the Crusaders’ ranks in the last few weeks has provided us with the first insight into what we can expect in the coming seasons from the talismanic fly-half.

Having dominated international rugby for nearly a decade, the All Blacks’ champion number 10 had his World Cup dreams dashed with a devastating groin injury, and is only now returning to full fitness.

But, as inevitably happens with ageing players, and players returning from serious injuries, the Carter we see in the coming years will be a different Carter from the one we’ve seen previously. …

A Tale of Four Fly Halves…

Stephen Donald has easily been the most derided All Black over the last two seasons. Good players being stuck behind once-in-a-lifetime All Blacks is nothing new. Players like Frano Botica, Norm Hewitt, Marty Holah and Nick Evans may have walked onto many international rugby teams, but they had their chances severely limited by living in the shadow of All Black legends. However, no one has felt the burden of playing second fiddle to a legend more than Stephen Donald. The bar set by Dan Carter is so high that mistakes that might be glossed …

The All Blacks have secured a record-breaking victory over the Springboks in Wellington. While the score line fell short of the all time margin victory, the 40-7 thrashing was good enough to break the record for biggest victory over the Springboks in New Zealand. The All Blacks also took the opportunity to show off their new All Blacks rugby jersey. It now features a white collar, which is a throwback to the old jerseys up until 1999. In particular, it is a homage to the 1987 Rugby World Cup winning team. The new jersey is a lot tighter, and apparently …

The All Blacks have named their team to take on an ‘injury-ravaged’ Springbok team in Wellington on Saturday. The side features Adam Thomson completing his full house of loose forward positions by being named at number 8. Dan Carter will start at fly half with last week’s number 10, Colin Slade moving to the bench. There is a reprieve for Cory Jane on the right wing, who gets an opportunity to prove the selectors wrong with his initial omission from the squad. Even after his heroics last week, Sitiveni Sivivatu drops from the 22. Brad Thorn continues to be rested, …

All Blacks 60 v Fiji 14 at Carisbrook, Dunedin.

The All Blacks have beaten Fiji by nearly 50 points, but neither they nor their fans will be happy with their performance. Unfortunately, the marker is set very high for a team like the All Blacks and the resting of their Crusader players or it being the first game of the season will be disclaimers enough to keep the critics at bay. Despite the high score line, it is actually the lowest score the All Blacks have ever posted against Fiji.

Harsh critics aside, there is plenty of positives to take …